MISSIONARY REPORT FROM LIBERIA
“Sell that ye have and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that fadeth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Luke 12:33, 34.
In the name of our blessed Redeemer and Lord Jesus Christ, we greet all our fellow brothers and sisters in the entire world. By God’s providence, the message of reformation is progressing well in Africa and recently entered the Republic of Liberia.
Geographically, Liberia is located on the west coast of Africa. It borders Ivory Coast to the east, Sierra Leone to the west, Guinea to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. Several native dialects are spoken in this country, but English is the main national language.
Africa’s first republic, Liberia was established in 1822 as a result of the efforts of the American Colonization Society to settle freed American slaves in West Africa. Over the course of forty years, about 12,000 former slaves voluntarily relocated to this country. Originally called Monrovia, the colony became the Free and Independent Republic of Liberia in 1847. The English-speaking Americo-Liberians, descendants of former American slaves, make up only 5% of the population but have historically dominated the intellectual and ruling class. In 1980, the government was overturned in a military coup led by Samuel Doe, an indigenous Liberian, which ushered in a decade of authoritarian rule. In December 1989, Charles Taylor launched a rebellion against Doe’s regime, which led to two bloody civil wars displacing hundreds of thousands of people and devastating the country’s economy. An August 2003 peace agreement ended the war, and a civilian elected government came to power under the supervision of the United Nations. After two years of rule by a transitional government, democratic elections in late 2005 brought President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to power. Thank the Lord that now, under the civilian government and with the help of the international community, the economy of this country is being revived.
About 40% of Liberians are Christian, 40% are traditional animist, and 20% are Muslim. Seventh-day Adventist missionaries from Germany entered Liberia in 1926 and introduced the Adventist message; in 1945, after World War II, they were replaced by American SDA missionaries. The prophesied reformation of the International Missionary Society of the SDA Church Reform Movement was introduced for the first time in October 2005. Discouraged by corruption and inconsistencies in the SDA Church in the Liberian Mission, Pastor Vangarral Chengbe was impressed to search the Internet, looking for Adventist groups which practice and preach the reform message. He came across information about the IMS SDA Church Reform Movement and immediately made a Macedonian call. The General Conference commissioned me to visit them, and the seed of reformation was planted.
Within two years, that seed bore fruit. A group of leaders who heard the message shared it with other leaders as well as church members; and by December 2007, a good number of interested souls throughout the country, including pastors, embraced the concepts of true Reformation. About 500 laymen, eight pastors who gave up their previous positions, and several church elders took their stand with the remnant church of God. Since that time, they have experienced persecution and intimidation from their former associates. By God’s grace, they are still strong in the faith and pressing forward with the truth.
This newly born mission field has great potential for spreading the gospel, as an increasing number of people from unreached parts of the country are asking to hear the reformation message. As a result, there is a great need of funds for missionary outreach, equipment for a public address system, and also a headquarters office. We, therefore, earnestly appeal to all the brothers, sisters, and friends of the Reform Movement worldwide to extend a helping hand to the Liberian Field through your generous Sabbath School offerings next week.
May the words of Jesus recorded in Matthew 6:19-21 inspire your heart: “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
–Parmenas N. Shirima
General Conference Second Vice President
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